Marines observing Memorial Day. Image: Flickr, CC
Until today, I wasn't exactly clear on the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Now, thanks to one marine, and the internet's most intriguing listserv, I am.
Like most folks, I imagine, it seems that I knew the history of the three day weekend-enabling holidays at some point back there. But after an semi-annual stream of camping trips and beach days, it began to elude me. Enter the Listserve—ever since Motherboarder Claire Evans turned me on to what has to be the largest anonymous email list going, I've been looking forward to a daily email from a random member of the list's tens of thousands of members.
The day after Memorial Day, Tony Bundschuh, a U.S. marine, was serendipitously selected to share his thoughts to the list. And he took the opportunity to clear up a very common misconception—Memorial Day is not supposed to be a day of celebration (that's Veterans Day) but one of mourning the fallen.
"The timing for winning the lottery is pretty good," Bundschuh writes. "As a veteran from a family with a long military history, Memorial Day means a lot to me. But not really for the reason that most people think. There is a difference between Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. Veteran's Day is the one where we give thanks to all that have served, but Memorial Day is supposed to be a somber day set aside for remembrance of those that have died serving their country."
"It is not a happy day," he adds. As an example of what Memorial Day is all about, he says we should all "search for the video of the Marine that stood at attention and saluted for something like 6 hours during the Rolling Thunder parade in D.C."
So I did.
It's pretty intense, and has accumulated over 3 million views for a reason.
Bundschuh then turns his email-mic over to a friend of his, a master sergeant in the Air Force, who had apparently posted the following rumination on her Facebook page:
"Memorial Day is set aside for remembering those that died while serving their country. It is not a happy day. It is a day of rememberance of comrades, friends, and family members who have fallen in service to their country. Never wish anyone a Happy Memorial Day. If you can't think of something more appropriate to say, simply say nothing. We understand and respect your silence much more than your cheery well wishes."
And so, thanks to two internet-savvy veterans, we've again got ahold the meaning of Memorial Day.—save the celebration for November.